Thomas, a former Major League pitcher, comes to Monroe after one year at Faulkner State Community College in Alabama, where he turned a subpar pitching staff into one with the fourth best ERA (2.86) in the country this past season. He will replace Justin Hill, who spent two years at ULM before taking the head job at McNeese State earlier this summer.

"It's been a busy summer replacing coaches, and we didn't want to jump ...